Talk to Me About...

Instead of using name tags at your next event, try this tip (found at The Kitchn blog) to get conversations started:

The idea is that instead of "Hello my name is..." stickers, you give your guess ones that read "Talk to me about..." Guests can fill in their career specialty, their hobby, their passion of the moment, or their favorite meal (just keeping it foodie, here!).

We picked this suggestion up from SwissMiss, who used it at a talk she was facilitating, and we think it's a brilliant idea for all sorts of social situations. Name tags like these are guaranteed conversation starters!

We think they also take away some of the discomfort factor. Personally, we feel much more comfortable approaching someone who wants to talk about a subject in which we're interested than we would just striking up a random conversation.

I'd take it a bit further, and give each guest 4-5 name tags.  Every 30 minutes or so, have them switch out their "I want to talk about..." tag with a different subject.

Wonder what my friend Scott "The Nametag Guy" Ginsberg would think?